Milestones: Nov. 2, 1981

DIED. Bill Muncey, 52, dean of the hydroplane superstars; of a severed
spinal cord suffered in a crash during championship competition; in
Acapulco, Mexico. In three decades of competition, Muncey thunderballed
to more victories (61), championships (seven) and Gold Cups (eight)
than any other competitor who raced unlimited hydroplanes at 200 m.p.h.
or better. A survivor of countless crashes, Muncey said in 1979:
"Anything less than death is a minor accident."

DIED. Mary Coyle Chase, 74, a Colorado-born playwright and mother of
three sons who wrote the 1945 Pulitzer-prizewinning play Harvey, an
enchanting...